


Capable of Kindness

by Battery_operated



Category: Hazbin Hotel (Web Series)
Genre: And He Knows It, Character Study, Like Most Things I Write, Val is a bastardman, based on a quote prompt, mentions of abuse, set moments after the prequel comic, we need more content of this boi, who left this man alone with his thoughts, written at 3AM
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-18
Updated: 2020-02-18
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:00:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22785244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Battery_operated/pseuds/Battery_operated
Summary: I used my one wish to make myself smarter.Smart enough to wish I was more kind.- A Softer World
Comments: 10
Kudos: 41





	Capable of Kindness

For all it was worth, Valentino knew he was horrible.

In all honesty- it was hard not to come to such a terrible realization while he watched Angel's retreating figure, crumpled in on himself in humiliation. Harder knowing the following panic attack that would ensue once he found Fat Nuggets missing from his dressing room; a mild punishment decided upon for his misbehavior. For Angel it wouldn't be "mild" in the slightest. Anyone who had met him knew that the pig was his world and frankly that last thing in this hellhole he cared to love.

But love was just a word and at the end of the day Angel needed to be punished. So the pig would be staying with him for the next week.

Val knew it was the smartest decision to make, and Vox only encouraged a harsher punishment. Swift and precise discipline was the best answer to put a stop to any undesirable behaviour before Angel's disobedience became a bigger problem. He'd taken plenty of precautions before, but Angel's financial dependency on him hadn't quite tamed him the way he hoped and threats of physical abuse all but rolled off his back.

Out of all of the whores Val's worked with Angel is by far the most resilient, the most stubborn. He wasn't particularly quick to grovel at someone's feet and was a resourceful and clever little irritant. Most of those who fell to hell loaded with as many issues as Angel were ticking time bombs. They were bound to fall apart and only need a touch of coaxing and manipulation to get them going in the right direction. But Angel had came to hell disillusioned, throwing himself into the sex industry with the tired expertise of a worn circus animal.

But anyone would be a fool to assume Angel was completely broken based purely on how he acted at a surface level. Behind the dull, glossed over sheen of his eyes, his mind was still active. In his mind he was full vigor and was willful and determined to search out childish entertainment.

Maybe that's why Valentino had taken one look at him and dictated him his favorite. He was interesting and a challenge to break. Or maybe because looking at Angel was like looking in a mirror but not entirely despising what he saw.

But all of his fondness for Angel's mulish personality didn't change the fact that it was bad for business. Sure, his various escapades were entertaining to watch but having the crowned star of his company just up and run off on a whim was too risky a gamble to just sit back and allow. The smart thing to do was to crack down on these activities while they were still benign, before they posed much of a risk to his image and credibility.

Yes, Angel would be miserable. Yes, he'd hate Valentino. But the overlord had never intended to base his company in the contentment of his employees.

Valentino thought along similar lines when it came to Angel and his work affairs. Having known the city streets like the back of his hand while he was still alive, Angel was smart. Having been born and raised in the mafia, Angel was capable. Being an absolutely unassuming and helpless lesser demon to the untrained eye, Angel was perfect. He checked every mark to be the best candidate for Val to take on as an accomplice. Every box except one.

Angel wasn't gullible.

It could have just as easily been a positive trait as a negative one . Not being gullible meant there was less of a chance of him being influenced by outside forces and used against him, but it also meant he'd be liable to strike out on his own if he ever so chose. It was high risk, high reward, and Val decided it wasn't a risk worth taking. He had plenty of ignorant, willing spies and lackies easily sustained on lies.

The smarter decision was to keep Angel out of his personal business. To keep him out of business in general lest he risk the spider becoming too cocky and independent.

Valentino motioned for the girl next to him to pass him the glass of whiskey that sat just out of his reach. Her shimmering, iridescent dress cut just a little too high hiked up even further on her thighs as she reached to grab it from the table next to her.

It hadn't taken long at all to break this one in, she had dropped into hell already so fragile. With a sprinkle of some honeyed lies and a few sparse threats she was a perfect replacement for the lap warmer he'd lost to angels last extermination. Though the name of her predecessor escapes him.

She hands him the glass and he uses a free hand to tilt her chin up, but her eyes remain glued on the floor. Valentino ponders, looking over her face for something, anything about her to make it clear why'd chosen her. Maybe it was her voice? Her mannerisms? Her preferences? But it couldn't be those he realized, because he didn't know any of them. After examining her like a pinned beetle under a glass for so long, it dawns upon him that he doesn't know her name either.

Val finds himself disappointed and irritated even though he can't find a reason to be. This is exactly how it's supposed to be. She might be completely unmemorable, but she's that way for a reason. There will be no bothersome sentiments getting the better of him when it's time to replace her. She's perfect. Quiet and docile and mild, all without those pesky thoughts running through her head. He's long since beaten them out of her

She sits there and takes it as he scrutinizes her face, gripping it and turning it this way and that. She doesn't utter a word, doll-like in her tameness. He wonders what she's thinking. If she's thinking.

With Angel, there was a time when he didn't have to wonder, when his mouth would have already run loose his thoughts to the world without so much as a passing thought about the consequences. Angel didn't use to fear him. Now he acts professional around Valentino and obeys him quietly most of the time, but he once looked at Val just like any other john. 

It was nice, if not odd, for someone to look at him and see a person. For someone to have looked at him and not to see all the things he's done for the sake of power nor a name with a reputation. It's something he could have gotten use to.

But it's so much smarter to have things like this, he scolded himself. A throne built on fear is much more stable than one on love. People did not follow him out of their own volition, they followed him because they had to.

He shooed the girl out of the room, craving the soothing embrace of solitude. A flurry of emotions laid heavy on his temple and he couldn't decide if it was mainly shame or guilt. They had long since melded together in a amalgamation of ever present self-hatred.

He maintained the shaky remnants of a smile under the false reassurance that the queasy, burning pit of self-loathing in his stomach would soon calm if he could only keep his composure. His phone chimed, reminding him of the meeting he had in less than an hour. That he hasn't got long to get himself together.

Val steeled himself, reminding himself of the calm, collected, and smart man he is. Intelligence and kindness don't come as a pair, he remembers his elder brother telling him when they were younger, two kids growing up together on the streets of Chicago alone. He was lucky to have gotten the better of the two.

It was too late to change that now. After a lifetime of molding himself to be who he was, he was finally alone with the culmination of his choices. With all he'd built up upon this carefully stacked house of cards, he couldn't be kind.

But for all it was worth, Valentino wishes he were.

**Author's Note:**

> As one of the main antagonists of the show, I've accepted that Valentino has virtually no chance of redemption. I still hope we can see his character being filled out beyond classic cartoon bad guy in other other ways, but right now I guess I have to do it myself.


End file.
